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Ardeidae
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus '' Botaurus'' are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus ''Zebrilus'', form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks. The classification of the individual heron/egret species is fraught with difficulty, and no clear consensus exists about the correct placement of many species into either of the two major genera, '' Ardea'' and ''Egretta''. Similarly, the relationships of the genera in the family are not completely resolved. However, one species formerly considered to constitute a separ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zigzag Heron
The zigzag heron (''Zebrilus undulatus'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae, also including egrets and bitterns. It is in the monotypic genus ''Zebrilus''. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps. Taxonomy The zigzag heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes, storks and bitterns in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea undulata''. Gmelin based his description on the ''zigzig bittern'' from Cayenne that had been described by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham had in turn based his account on "Le petit butor de Cayenne" that had been described and illustrated in Comte de Buffon's ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botaurus
''Botaurus'' is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. The genus includes species that were previously placed in the genus ''Ixobrychus''. Taxonomy The genus ''Botaurus'' was introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens. Stephens did not specify the type species but this was designated as ''Ardea stellaris'' Linnaeus ( Eurasian bittern) by George Gray in 1840. The name ''Botaurus'' is Medieval Latin for a bittern. The word combines Latin ''bos'' meaning "oxen" (compare ''butire'' "to boom") and ''taurus'' meaning "bull". In describing the Eurasian bittern Stephens wrote: "At this period the male makes a singular noise, which is compared with the deep bellowing of a bull, and is continued for about two months: ...". The genus formerly contained fewer species. Molecular genetic studies found that the genus ''Ixobrychus'' was paraphyletic with respect to ''Botaurus''. To resolve the non-monophyly the genus ''Ixobr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egret
Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build. Biology Egrets hold a separate group with bitterns and herons within the 74 species found in the bird family Ardeidae. Many egrets are members of the genus, genera ''Egretta'' or ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'', which also contain other species named as herons rather than egrets. The distinction between a heron and an egret is rather vague, and depends more on appearance than biology. The word "egret" comes from the French word ''aigrette'' that means both "silver heron" and "brush", referring to the long, filamentous feathers that seem to cascade down an egret's back during the breeding season (also called "egrets"). Several of the egrets have been reclassified from one genus to another in recent years; the great egret, for example, has be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boat-billed Heron
The boat-billed heron (''Cochlearius cochlearius''), colloquially known as the boatbill, is an atypical member of the heron family. It is the only member of the genus ''Cochlearius'' and was formerly placed in a monotypic family, the Cochleariidae. It lives in mangrove swamps from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil. It is a nocturnal bird, and breeds semiBird colony, colonially in mangrove trees, laying two to four bluish-white eggs in a twig nest. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the boat-billed heron in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected in French Guiana. He used the French name ''La Cuillière'' and the Latin ''Cochlearius''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Brisson placed the species in a new genus ''Cochlearius'' (with the same name as that of the species). When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bittern
Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' and various iterations of ''raredumla'' in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French ''butor'', itself from Gallo-Roman ''butitaurus'', a compound of Latin ''būtiō'' (buzzard) and ''taurus'' (bull). Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish. Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the cranes, storks, ibises and spoonbills, and geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ... which fly with necks extended and outstretched. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egretta
''Egretta'' is a genus of medium-sized herons, mostly breeding in warmer climates. Representatives of this genus are found in most of the world, and the little egret, as well as being widespread throughout much of the Old World, has now started to colonise the Americas. These are typical egrets in shape, long-necked and long-legged. A few plumage features are shared, although several have plumes in breeding plumage; a number of species are either white in all plumages, have a white morph (e.g. reddish egret), or have a white juvenile plumage ( little blue heron). The breeding habitat of ''Egretta'' herons is marshy wetlands in warm regions. They nest in colonies, often with other wading birds, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs. These herons feed on insects, fish, and amphibians, caught normally by cautious stalking. Taxonomy The genus ''Egretta'' was introduced in 1817 by the German naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster with the little egret as the type spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibises, but those families have been moved to other orders. Storks dwell in many regions and tend to live in drier habitats than the closely related herons, spoonbills and ibises; they also lack the powder down that those groups use to clean off fish slime. Bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Many species are migratory. Most storks eat frogs, fish, insects, earthworms, small birds and small mammals. There are 20 living species of storks in six genera. Various terms are used to refer to groups of storks, two frequently used ones being a ''muster'' of storks and a ''phalanx'' of storks. Storks tend to use soaring, gliding flight, which conserves energy. Soaring requires thermal air currents. Ottomar Ansch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Webster's Third International Dictionary Of The English Language Unabridged
''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') is an American English-language dictionary published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 editor-years and $3.5 million. The most recent printing has 2,816 pages, and as of 2005, it contained more than 476,000 vocabulary entries (including more than 100,000 new entries and as many new senses for entries carried over from previous editions), 500,000 definitions, 140,000 etymologies, 200,000 verbal illustrations, 350,000 example sentences, 3,000 pictorial illustrations and an 18,000-word Addenda section. The final definition, Zyzzogeton, was written on October 17, 1960; the final etymology was recorded on October 26; and the final pronunciation was transcribed on November 9. The final copy went to the typesetters, R. R. Donnelley, on December 2. The book was printed by the Riverside Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a type of large bird with long legs and necks in the Family (biology), biological family Gruidae of the Order (biology), order Gruiformes. The family has 15 species placed in four genera which are ''Antigone (genus), Antigone'', ''Balearica'', ''Siberian crane, Leucogeranus'', and ''Grus (genus), Grus''. They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the tail. Most species have muted gray or white plumages, marked with black, and red bare patches on the face, but the crowned cranes of the genus ''Balearica'' have vibrantly-coloured wings and golden "crowns" of feathers. Cranes fly with their necks extended outwards instead of bent into an S-shape and their long legs outstretched. Cranes live on most continents, with the exception of Antarctica and South America. Some species and populations of cranes bird migration, migrate over long distances; others do not migrate at all. Cranes are solitary du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Babcock Gove
Philip Babcock Gove (June 27, 1902–November 16, 1972) was an American lexicographer who was the editor-in-chief of the ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'', published in 1961. Born in Concord, New Hampshire, he received his A.B. from Dartmouth College, his A.M. from Harvard University, his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and his D.Litt. from Dartmouth. He published ''The Imaginary Voyage in Prose Fiction'' in 1941. He started working for the G. and C. Merriam Company in 1946. Gove was managing editor of ''Webster's Third'' from 1950 to 1952, general editor from 1952 to 1960, and editor-in-chief from 1960 until his retirement in 1967.(17 November 1972)Dr. Philip B. Gove, 70, Is Dead; Editor of the Webster's Third ''The New York Times''Woolfe, Henry BoslePhilip Babcock Gove: 27 June 1902-16 November 1972 ''American Speech'', Vol. 45, No 3/4, pp. 163-67 Gove's work on ''Webster's Third'' was highly controversial for its descriptive rather than prescriptive approac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Webster's Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's name in his honor. "''Webster's''" has since become a genericized trademark in the United States for US English dictionaries, and is widely used in dictionary titles. Merriam-Webster is the corporate heir to Noah Webster's original works, which are in the public domain. Noah Webster's ''American Dictionary of the English Language'' Noah Webster (1758–1843), the author of the readers and spelling books which dominated the American market at the time, spent decades of research in compiling his dictionaries. His first dictionary, ''A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language'', appeared in 1806. In it, he popularized features which would become a hallmark of American English spelling (''center'' rather than ''centre'', ''honor'' rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
